Quantification of food intake in Drosophila

Measurement of food intake in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is often necessary for studies of behaviour, nutrition and drug administration. There is no reliable and agreed method for measuring food intake of flies in undisturbed, steady state, and normal culture conditions. We report such a method, based on measurement of feeding frequency by proboscis-extension, validated by short-term measurements of food dye intake. We used the method to demonstrate that (a) female flies feed more frequently than males, (b) flies feed more often when housed in larger groups and (c) fly feeding varies at different times of the day. We also show that alterations in food intake are not induced by dietary restriction or by a null mutation of the fly insulin receptor substrate chico. In contrast, mutation of takeout increases food intake by increasing feeding frequency while mutation of ovoD increases food intake by increasing the volume of food consumed per proboscis-extension. This approach provides a practical and reliable method for quantification of food intake in Drosophila under normal, undisturbed culture conditions

Moving Detectors in Cavities

We consider two-level detectors, coupled to a quantum scalar field, moving inside cavities. We highlight some pathological resonant effects due to abrupt boundaries, and decide to describe the cavity by switching smoothly the interaction by a time-dependent gate-like function. Considering uniformly accelerated trajectories, we show that some specific choices of non-adiabatic switching have led to hazardous interpretations about the enhancement of the Unruh effect in cavities. More specifically, we show that the emission/absorption ratio takes arbitrary high values according to the emitted quanta properties and to the transients undergone at the entrance and the exit of the cavity, {\it independently of the acceleration}. An explicit example is provided where we show that inertial and uniformly accelerated world-lines can even lead to the same ``pseudo-temperature''.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, version accepted in Phys.Rev.

Sequence stratigraphy, chemostratigraphy and facies analysis of Cambrian Series 2 – Series 3 boundary strata in northwestern Scotland

Globally, the Series 2 – Series 3 boundary of the Cambrian System coincides with a major carbon isotope excursion, sea-level changes and trilobite extinctions. Here we examine the sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and carbon isotope record of this interval in the Cambrian strata (Durness Group) of NW Scotland. Carbonate carbon isotope data from the lower part of the Durness Group (Ghrudaidh Formation) show that the shallow-marine, Laurentian margin carbonates record two linked sea-level and carbon isotopic events. Whilst the carbon isotope excursions are not as pronounced as those expressed elsewhere, correlation with global records (Sauk I – Sauk II boundary and Olenellus biostratigraphic constraint) identifies them as representing the local expression of the ROECE and DICE. The upper part of the ROECE is recorded in the basal Ghrudaidh Formation whilst the DICE is seen around 30m above the base of this unit. Both carbon isotope excursions co-occur with surfaces interpreted to record regressive–transgressive events that produced amalgamated sequence boundaries and ravinement/flooding surfaces overlain by conglomerates of reworked intraclasts. The ROECE has been linked with redlichiid and olenellid trilobite extinctions, but in NW Scotland, Olenellus is found after the negative peak of the carbon isotope excursion but before sequence boundary formation

Cardiorespiratory fitness levels and body mass index of pre-adolescent children and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction The social and behavioral effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the health and physiology of most people, including those never diagnosed with COVID-19. While the impact of the pandemic has been felt across the lifespan, its effects on cardiorespiratory fitness (commonly considered a reflection of total body health) of older adults and children may be particularly profound due to social distancing and stay-at-home advisories, as well as the closure of sport facilities and non-essential businesses. The objective of this investigation was to leverage baseline data from two ongoing clinical trials to determine if cardiorespiratory fitness and body mass index were different during COVID-19 relative to before COVID-19 in older adults and children.Methods Healthy older individuals (N = 593; 65-80 years) and 200 typically developing children (8-10 years) completed a graded maximal exercise test and had their height and weight measured.Results Results revealed that older adults and children tested during COVID-19 had significantly lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels than those tested before COVID-19 shutdowns (older adults: 30% lower; children: 53% lower; p's & LE; 0.001). In addition, older adults and children tested during COVID-19 had significantly higher BMI (older adults: 31.34 +/- 0.57 kg/m(2), p = 0.004; children: 19.27 +/- 0.44 kg/m(2), p = 0.05) than those tested before COVID-19 shutdowns (older adults: 29.51 +/- 0.26 kg/m(2), children: 18.13 +/- 0.35 kg/m(2)). However, these differences in BMI did not remain significant when controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness.Discussion Results from this investigation indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic, and behavior changes taken to reduce potential exposure, may have led to lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels in older adults and children, as well as higher body mass index. These findings provide relevant public health information as lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels and higher body mass indexes recorded during the pandemic could have far-reaching and protracted health consequences. Public health guidance is needed to encourage physical activity to maintain cardiorespiratory fitness and healthy body composition.United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) R01AG053952 United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) R01HD09405

Selecting Site Suitable for Animal Waste Application using a Vector GIS

Due to the increase in the number and size of intensive animal industries (IAI) in many parts of the world including Australia, the disposal of animal waste has become a pressing environmental problem. Frequently the wastes generated at IAI are conveniently, favourably, and cost-effectively applied to the nearby agricultural fields to recycle manure nutrients. However, excessive application of wastes in the nearby fields without due consideration of site-specific factors (eg. slope, soil, and watercourses) has resulted in the run-off and leaching losses of manure nutrients causing agricultural non-point source (NPS) pollution (He and Shi, 1998). The agricultural NPS pollution has contributed significantly to the eutrophication and toxic blue green algae blooms in many river systems including Murray-Darling, where world's largest toxic riverine algal bloom was recorded in 1991 (Kuhn, 1993). Hence it has become crucial to develop an animal waste application guide (i.e. a site suitability map) by considering biophysical and socio-economic factors to minimise the environmental hazards. Developing such a map requires consideration of many factors and their spatial variability. Geographic information system (GIS)offers site suitability analysis techniques that are capable of processing large volumes of spatial data (Davis, 1996). The objective of this study is to develop a suitability map using a vector GIS, and to evaluate the factor sensitivity and aptness of this technique in selecting suitable sites for animal waste application

Correction to: The hidden therapist: evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy.

The article The hidden therapist: evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy, written by Mendel Kaelen, Bruna Giribaldi, Jordan Raine, Lisa Evans, Christopher Timmerman, Natalie Rodriguez, Leor Roseman, Amanda Feilding, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal

Merging several separate data acquisition systems at GANIL

International audienceThe Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions (GANIL) as a National User's facility must answer to the problems of synchronization for the coupling of resident and external acquisition systems. For this a solution made up of a C-size VXI electronics called CENTRUM and a software named MERGER was adopted. The technique used for synchronization is based on the distribution of a 32-bit event number or a 48-bit timestamp. The tagged events sent by the various acquisition systems on the network are assembled by MERGER in a single event and sent for the analysis and storag

Obesity, visceral adipose tissue, and cognition in childhood

There is an increasing prevalence of physical inactivity during childhood, concurrent with a rise in obesity rates, which are associated with a myriad of health complication. In addition to weight status, central adipose tissue is particularly dangerous, with visceral adipose tissue being linked to higher risks of metabolic diseases and cardiovascular complications. However, the relationship between central adiposity and brain health and cognition during childhood, and the influence of a physical activity on these relationships, is unknown. Accordingly, the aim of this investigation was to examine baseline behavioral and neuroelectric differences between healthy weight children and obese children, as well as the effect of a 9-month physical activity intervention on changes in body composition and cognition in preadolescent children. Obese children participating in a randomized controlled trial were matched with healthy weigh children participating in the same intervention. Following a 9-month physical activity intervention, children who participated in the intervention showed improved body composition, whereas those children in the waitlist-control condition, particularly obese children, gained central adipose tissue. Furthermore, obese children in the intervention showed greater changes in a cognitively demanding task, which were further related to changes in visceral adipose tissue. Beneficial changes in body composition were related to an increased capacity to allocate attentional resources and faster cognitive processing, particularly in obese intervention children. These findings highlight the benefits of physical activity, both in terms of body composition and cognitive health, particularly for obese children